Lessons In Bending
by Wings Of Sanguine
Summary: Alfea's School For Fairies is to be hiring new teachers to help advance the students in a new art form, but the ones that arrive aren't what anyone expects! Problems are everywhere once these "teachers" start their lesson plans, including one that may or may not involve an entire army coming for one teacher in particular! (DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN WINX CLUB, ATLA OR ANY CHARACTERS)
1. Chapter 1

Griselda crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at the gates to Alfea. Students were pouring in to the courtyard, some strolling in casually, others appearing randomly out of portals. Normally, it would have been a rather alarming sight, but being part of the faculty, greeting the students on their first day was normal, and she saw things like this quite often.

In fact, as she monitored students who were arriving, the most well-known group of girls waltzed in, giggling and laughing like children. Of course, Griselda liked to use the term "well-known" loosely. Sure, they were probably heard of far and wide, but what exactly she disliked about them was that they were constantly breaking rules in order to do anything. The six of them- Musa, Bloom, Stella, Techna, Layla and Flora- materialized from a portal next to the gates, startling another girl in the process. Stella was holding her magic scepter, raising it high above her head, sun shining in her long blond hair. _Great_, Griselda thought bitterly, frowning upon the girl's entrance, _another year, possibly another chemistry lab blown up._

"I can't believe we're back at Alfea!" Bloom marveled, blue eyes wide. Techna and Musa laughed at her, and Griselda watched as Musa playfully punched the redhead's arm.

"Still can't believe you have magic, huh?" Musa joked.

"Oh don't be mean," Flora piped up, "after all, it took me a while to get used to Alfea myself, you know!" Griselda watched as they then got on the back of the line, hundreds of girls waiting to be accepted into school, given a new dorm room and the like. With the sun beating down mercilessly, however, she felt that she might not be able to stand out here any longer, aimlessly shuffling through the line of girls. She could already feel a headache coming on, the throbbing in her temples getting harder as the girls got closer and closer while the line moved.

As they neared her, she could overhear Techna and Musa complaining about the quality of music (not that she cared, really), while Stella was fidgeting with her ring. Flora had seen her eyeing them and gave a polite smile and a small wave of her hand, which Griselda did not reciprocate. She didn't have time to waste with these students shenanigans, not being the vice principal of the school!

"Next!" she barked, and finally, they approached her in line, carrying their multiple bags of luggage and carry on cases. Raising an eyebrow in disdain, she said, "Names?"

"Hey Vice Principal Griselda!" Stella said with scary cheer, "how's it hanging?"

"If it weren't for right now, it'd be alright I suppose," Griselda grumbled, then, "Names, girls?"

"But you already know our names!" Musa pointed out unhelpfully. Griselda tapped her clipboard with her pencil, glasses falling a bit down the bridge of her thin nose.

"Girls please, I don't have ti-"

"_SOKKA WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING?!"_

Griselda looked around, the sound echoing loudly in the airwaves. Gusts of wind banged the gates against the doorframe, the winged design flashing brightly. Griselda pushed her glasses back up her nose as they all looked up at the sky.

"Girls, please tell me that wasn't you?" Griselda groaned. Bloom held her hands up in defense, shaking her head.

"No, of course not!" she said quickly, but the voice came again- closer, more strangled.

"_IT ISN'T MY FAULT YOU GUYS LET TOPH STEER APPA!"_

"_IF YOU BOTH DON'T SHUT UP I WILL DRIVE THIS FLYING BISON STRAIGHT INTO A TREE!"_

"Flying bison?!" Griselda nearly screeched, catching the attention of a few students, "girls, whatever it is you're playing at, if you don't stop I need to get Miss Faragonda-"

"But it's not us!" Techna cried, "honest!" She opened her mouthy o say more, nearly jumping out of her skin when they heard an unearthly noise- a mix of a roar and screeching for dear life. Griselda crossed her arms, angrily tapping her foot as she glared at the girls standing in front of her. Now was not a time to play jokes, and this one was seeming to get a little over the top very quickly.

"Now I don't know what game you're playing, but it really needs to sto-"

"_HEY LADY!"_ the vice screamed, and the girls couldn't help but laugh as Griselda glanced up, her mouth agape in surprise.

"What the-?!" she began shielding her eyes from the sun, using her hand like a visor.

"_GET OUTTA THE WAY!" _cried what looked like a rather large fluffy….. boar, if that was the right animal. It was definitely big enough, but with the coloring of the fur, she wasn't sure. Of course, no one had time to decipher what animal it was anyway, amidst the roaring and the screaming and the running. Seconds later, the animal was crashing into the courtyard, students coughing as clouds of dust arose, blinding the visitors from view.

After a few minutes, the dust died down, and Griselda wiped her glasses free of dust. Pursing her lips, she squinted as she watched….. teenagers, perhaps? She wasn't sure, scrutinizing them as they climbed off of…. whatever it was that had just crash-landed in Alfea's courtyard.

"Toph!" cried a voice, and Griselda motioned for the girls to step back, "Weren't you supposed to tell us when we saw a place?!"

"Right, right!" said a girl's voice, dripping with sarcasm, "Let the blind girl steer the flying bison!"

_Flying bison?_ Griselda thought, _That can't be possible- there's no such thing! And to have a blind girl steer anything isn't a good idea at all! _Cautiously, she took step forward, freezing when the voices came again.

"Alright listen, if you didn't want to crash in the first place, you shouldn't have let me drive!" Griselda looked at the students- they were forming a crowd, some of the having taken out their phones to try and snap pictures or videos. Of course, being the adult figure at the moment, she was the one who had to step up and investigate.

She cleared her throat, throwing back her shoulders in hopes of looking dignified as she approached the crashers. She could see now that they were definitely teenagers, looking to be between at least sixteen and eighteen years of age- much like Alfea's students, which was at least helpful. One was a boy with tanned skin, wearing blue garments that resembled that of some sort of Asian culture. His brown hair was tied in a ponytail, with the sides shaved away to create a mohawk type of look. Cupping her mouth, Griselda called out, "Excuse me! Are you alright?"

The boy whipped his head around to face her, blue eyes wide with shock and possible exhaustion. A girl with the same features, her long brown hair cascading down her back, punched him in the arm.

"Sokka!" the girl said, "Aren't you gonna answer her?!" The boy- Sokka- raised an eyebrow at the girl, mouth agape.

"What?!" he cried in bewilderment, "Katara, are you serious?!" Katara crossed her arms, flipping her long brown hair over her shoulder.

"You have any better ideas?" she asked.

"Aang said he knew the area!" Sokka pleaded, and Griselda could only roll her eyes. She didn't know the kid, but leave it to boys to be so stubborn when it came to anything. Grisel

"Excuse me!" Griselda cut in, making he two jump, "Now I don't know if you kids realize this, but you're on private property. I'll have to call in the headmistress if you aren't registered within this school, you know!" Sokka slapped a hand to his forehead, Katara looking like steam was about to blow out of her ears, her face turning red with a mix of anger and embarrassment. She was about to say more when a third voice piped up.

"Alright, id on't know what's going on, but if you two ladies don't stop bickering I'm gonna make you eat dirt!" Both Katara and Sokka groaned.

"Toph, everyone knows you're the world's greatest Earth-bender, okay?!" Sokka yelled as they were joined by another girl. She was a bit shorter and younger than Katara, with short black hair and green robes. She had green cuffs on her ankles where her pants ended, and her feet were caked in dirt- from the looks of it, she had never worn shoes in her life, so it wasn't really helping matters.

"Well, Aang and Zuko-" Katara began but Griselda chose this precise moment to clear her throat loudly, catching the three kids attention.

"What was that?" Toph asked, cupping an ear, her gaze directed to the left.

"Now I want you three to come with me so we can explain to Headmistress Faragonda what this is all about!" Griselda yelled, "We can't have strangers just waltz in like they own the place!"

There was a stunned silence as the three newcomers stared at her- well, really Katara and Sokka, since Toph at this point was staring at the woods beyond the gates, her back turned to the entire student body- whom were flashing away with their phones and cameras, trying to get a glimpse of the intruders and their strange animal.

"Now, I'll need to finish attendance later, considering I have a completely new issue to deal with," Griseda announced, then turning to the students, "I want all of you to stay in the courtyard until I finish dealing with these three. If I hear any of you have disobeyed you know the punishment."

Griselda turned, beckoning Katara, Toph and Sokka to follow- leaving the trance large animal to sit patiently in the courtyard, chewing on grass and decorative vegetation. The siblings obliged, Sokka grabbing Toph by the shoulders to steer her in the right direction. There was utter silence as they then entered the building, with its high arch-waged ceilings and pastel pink walls. The roof was blue in color, and the shingles seemed to sparkle like glitter on a child's science project.

"Katara, why is everything so sparkly?" Sokka asked his sister. Katara only shrugged, keeping a wary eye on Griselda's back.

"Just shut up, Sokka, you've gotten us into enough trouble already!" Katara snapped at him.

"Why is the floor cold?" Toph asked, jerking her shoulders away from Sokka's grip.

"We're inside now, Toph," Katara explained. Griselda fought the urge not to moan in pain- was this girl stupid?!

"Oh," she said, "That explains the draftiness then." There was a second of silence before she piped up again, "Why did Aang and Zuko decide to go off on their own again?"

"Toph, it's literally the same reason we bought you along!" Sokka retorted, and Griselda smirked to herself as she heard him cry out in pain. "Ow! What was that for?!"

"Don't push it, Sokka," Toph warned, and Griselda could only hope she reached Faragonda's office quickly- she really didn't want to fall behind on enrolling the students. That, and there was still the matter of the group's strange animal eating the school's property.


	2. Chapter 2

"How about we go through that drill one more time?" Timmy suggested to Brandon and Sky. The three warriors in training were hot and sweaty from sparring for so long, and the heavy uniforms they were wearing were not helping their cases. Sky's blond hair was plastered to his face and neck with sweat, and Brandon looked ready to drop dead at any minute. Birds flew overhead like vultures, casting dark shadows across the ground of the tower as they trained.

"Can we take a break?" Brandon wiped at his brow, pushing his brown hair back from his face.

"Yeah," Sky agreed, "I'm bushed. You can't do anything in this heat." Timmy sighed, shrugging with defeat. He had been told if he wanted to get better at sword fighting, then he had to observe the other students as they dueled. H knew he was the weakest student Red Fountain School For Heors ever let enroll, and he wanted to change that.

With the way Sky and Brandon were doing things, though, he knew he wasn't going to get anywhere. He watched as they placed their weapons down, taking off the heavy blue capes that were wrapped around their shoulders, joints cracking as they stretched.

"Yeah, sure," he said, holding a hand to his stomach as it growled ferociously, "I've been getting a little hungry too."

"Hey, we can invite the girls for lunch!" Brandon piped up, a broad grin on his face.

"Just so you and Stella can make goggly eyes at one another again? No thanks," Sky laughed, "besides, the headmaster was informed that there was some sort of weird incident going on this morning, so they had to postpone orientation and stuff." Brandon hung his head, rolling his eyes. Of _course_, something weird just _had_ to happen- that was all that ever _seemed_ to happen at Alfea's School For Fairies these days.

"Then can we just go and take a little visit?" he tried, shrugging his shoulders, "Maybe skip class and mosey on down there for a minute or two?"

"I wouldn't advise that!" Timmy scolded, "Besides, if they ever found out, we'd be stuck cleaning the towers for at least a week! At _least_!" Both the men sighed- Timmy had a point. It wasn't worth going if they were going to be stuck up to their elbows in grime for a week or two. The three of them had been standing around for a while now, the wind coaxing them inside with a harsh coldness. Hugging themselves, they began to run inside, only to be blown backwards buy some unseen force.

"Ow! Timmy!" Brandon rubbed his head as he and Sky landed, skittering across the ground like a pair of rag dolls. Timmy jumped, throwing his hands up in defense.

"It wasn't me!" he cried, "Do you really think I'd have the strength to do something like tha- AAH!" Anotehr gust of wind dragged Timmy backwards, and he flailed trying to catch his glasses from falling off his face. Amidst burst of laughter, Brandon and Sky gave him pointed looks.

"Come on, Timmy, really-" Brandon began, jumping as a voice suddenly broke out overhead.

"_YOU PROMISED YOU WEREN'T GOING TO USE THE PARACHUTE!"_

"What the-" Sky trailed as another voice interrupted him.

"_IT ISN'T MY FAULT KATAR DECIDED TO TAKE APPA!" _

"_WHATEVER- JUST PLEASE PUT ME DOWN!"_

Blasts of harsh wind came at the three students, and they raced for cover as a shadow loomed over them, growing larger as it descended. A flash of orange invaded there vision as it touched lightly to ground, fanning out in several directions as it did so.

"What is that?" Timmy asked. Brandon and Sky had already brandished their swords, raring to charge at whatever had just landed.

"I dunno, but we're gonna find out- tell Headmaster, will ya?" Brandon ordered, and Timmy nodded, panting as he pulled himself u and ran inside, his voice echoing as he yelled for help. The winds had thankfully died down, and the two heroes were able to make an advancement, ducking behind a nearby column as the orange thing got up.

"Ow…" groaned one of the voices, "Aang, when i said to put me down, i didn't mean drop me on my head!" Whoever was speaking was still obscured from view by what looked like a large orange fan on a stick. Brandon and Sky exchanged glances as a second voice joined the first.

"Well, i specifically told you earlier that if you came with me, we'd have to fly."

"Okay, but why couldn't _we_ take Appa instead of the others?" this 'Zuko' fellow complained.

"Are you kidding?" said Zuko's companion, "Toph is blind, Zuko- or did you forget? Because one time, Sokka and I forgot that and we tried settling an argument between her and Katara-"

_Who's Toph? And Katara?_ Sky thought, blowing a raspberry to try and get strands of his blond hair out of his face. Sure, it wasn't going to help, but he still couldn't see much. All he could make out were two pairs of feet, one wearing black, the other wearing orange and yellow.

"Aang, I don't care." Zuko said with annoyance, but it seems Aang had all the time in the world, as he ignored Zuko's words.

"-but then a Katara told us, we realized that Toph can't exactly write, being blind and all-"

"Aang! Shut up!" Zuko cut him of, and Sky and Brandon couldn't help but wince.

"Harsh, dude," Brandon commented.

"Yeah, this guy doesn't seem like the friendliest person huh?" Sky could only agree as Zuko went on.

"It doesn't look like anyone is here," Zuko commented.

"Yeah, that's weird," Aang said, and the heroes jumped as the ring of orange disappeared to reveal the owners of said names and voices. One- clad in red, black and gold- had pale skin, a mess of black hair on his head. He was frowning with disdain, but other than that they couldn't make out much. The heroes shivered as they took in his muscular build- how were they going to be able to fight him off if he looked like Sasquatch?

The other one was less pale than the first, clad in orange and yellow. He held the staff from which the orange fan erupted, and they couldn't help but cringe at how shiny his bald head looked under the sun. As the rays glared off his scalp, they noticed blue making snaking down his neck, disappearing into his clothes.

"Are those tattoos?" Brandon asked, and Sky shrugged. If they were tattoos, it had to be painful to have gotten them on such sensitive areas of the body. Carefully, he slid his foot forward, the heel of his boot scraping the floor.

And these people apparently had insanely good hearing, because the next minute, Brandon and Sky were running from a wall of fire, having manifested out of thin air.

"Zuko!" they heard Aang reprimand him, "What are you doing?"

"Someone's here, Aang!" Zuko yelled, as Brandon and Sky rolled to a stop behind another pillar, keeping as quiet as possible.

"And? Remember, the letter said the Headmaster would meet us on the grounds!" Aang whined, and the students exchanged confused glances.

"A letter?" Brandon asked Sky, "Wouldn't the headmaster have mentioned something?" Sky only shrugged, putting down his sword as Aang began to speak again.

"Now please, stop bending for a minute so we consort ourselves out, okay?" There was a grant, which Brandon could only assume was an agreement.

This was going to be an awkward first meeting, they both knew, as they withdrew from the shadows, sheepishly dropping their weapons at their feet.


	3. Chapter 3

Zuko crossed his arms as the two men withdrew from the shadows, sheepishly dropping their weans and smiling nervously. One was blonde where the other was brunette, and both had decently muscular builds, Zuko decided as he glared at them, raising a hand to scratch at his head.

"Hey!" Aang suddenly piped up, "Are you the welcoming committee?" The two strangers exchanged confused glances as Zuko slapped a hand to his forehead. Rolling his eyes, he tugged at his black hair, hoping that it hid most of his scar- a red ugly patch of skin over his left eye, stretching all the way to his ear.

"Leave it to the Avatar to be so straightforward," he muttered, and Aang widened his eyes in shock, clapping a hand to Zuko's mouth.

"Zuko!" he cried, raising an eyebrow at the others, "What if the Fire Nation is here?!" Pushing Aang away, Zuko sighed, crossing his arms.

"You do know that I was once part of the Fire Nation, right?" he deadpanned, and he smirked as Aang blushed, scratching his head with embarrassment as he then added, "Besides, we're here to teach you fire bending, not hide from the enemy." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the blond one shrug at his friend as they eyed them curiously, clearing his throat before cutting in.

"Hey, uh, I'm not sure about any welcoming committee, but this is private property-"

"Oh, stuff it, pretty boy," Zuko scowled, flicking his wrist in their direction. There was a cry of alarm as a wall of orange flame rolled at them, steam trailing in the air as they nimbly dodged it, crashing to the ground.

"Zuko!" Aang shouted, rushing to help them up, waving smoke out of the air with rapid fingers.

"That's my name, don't wear it out," Zuko joked, "Now, where is that headmaster….?" Aang smiled profusely, politely being as he apologized.

"I' deeply sorry for anything my friend had cause harm to," he said, "I'm Aang, by the way!"

"Brandon," the brunette introduced himself, laughing heartily, "And this is my friend, Prince Sky." At the mention of 'prince', the bald monk fell to his knees, the floor cool against his forehead as he pressed himself against the floor. Brandon and Sky watch uncomfortably, their attention turning to Zuko. He was clenching and unclenching his fists, and they thought they could see little spurts of red coming from his fingers.

_That, or we trained for too long_, Brandon thought as he scrutinized the newcomer's actions. Aang could feel sweat bead on his skin and the heat of the sun burning into his scalp as he awkwardly stood there before adding, "Oh! And this is my friend Prince Zuko!" A blast of warm wind hit them in the face as Aang pushed himself to his feet, gesturing to Zuko, who just glared.

"That would be _Fire Lord_ Zuko, thank you very much, _Avatar_ Aang," Zuko replied with a snide grin, and Brandon raised an eyebrow. He wasn't sure if this Zuko was joking or if these were actual titles.

After a few minutes of silence, Sky cleared his throat, "So…. what business do you have at Red Fountain? Looking to enroll?"

"Yeah! I think I heard you guys mention training! We can help!" Brandon piped up, his face falling at their reactions. While Aang looked excited, Zuko was absolutely bored, unimpressed with his surroundings. What the two students found funny was how perfectly Zuko's clothes matched the decor and design of the tower; it was the perfect camouflage.

"We don't need to hear it from you, we need your Headmaster," Zuko huffed, steam blowing out of his nose. Aang placed a hand cautiously on his friends shoulder.

"What Fire Lord Zuko means to say," Aang corrected him, "Is that we would be glad to have some help!" Branon was about to open his mouth to say more, umping back with a strangled cry as a flash of what looked like fire lashed out at him, although he and Brandon couldn't be too sure.

"What the heck was that for?!" Sky shouted, and Zuko froze, snapping his head up. He thought he could have heard something….. the squeak of metal perhaps…. The other three watched as his eyes darted around the perimeter and he pretended not to hear Brandon as he whispered to Sky:

"What's with this guy, huh?"

"I don't know, Brandon, but maybe Headmaster Saladin will find out."

Once again, they cried out as a wall of orange and crimson came at them, and they ducked, shielding their heads as best they could.

"Someone's here!" Zuko stated, his voice scratchy, throat sore. The air was dry, and he knew it would' help his bending if he was dehydrated, assuming the same for Aang as well.

"You said that earlier and it was just these two, remember?" Aang pointed out.

"No… this feels…. different," Zuko said, his voice now a hushed whisper. Keeping his eye on the pillars in front of them, he watched as the sun let shadows dance across the architecture.

"Zuko, stop being paranoid, it was probably just a Lemur Bat, okay?" Aang said calmly, and Zuko raised an eyebrow at him, frowning profusely.

"What do you mean, Aang?" Zuko cried, "You're the Avatar and I'm a fugitive- if any of us are found by Azula or my father we're dead! If we don't find shelter soon-" His far was turning as red as his clothes, and the Red Fountain students thought they could see smoke pouring from his nostrils, out of his ears.

"You can always rest here for the time being," a voice cut in, and the four teenagers looked over to see an old man approaching, wearing a long tan robe with equally (if not longer) sleeves. His build was short and stocky, and he stroked a long white beard with ease. A red sash tied the robe closed, and he smiled politely as he bowed to them, "Brandon, Prince Skye, what are you doing on your lunch hour? You must be getting hungry, no?"

"Well, Headmaster Saladin, we were just-" Brandon began, jumping in surprise as Aang suddenly pointed.

"Hey, Zuko, isn't that your Uncle? General Iroh?" he asked, jabbing Zuko with his elbow.

Zuko looked the old man up and down. They definitely looked similar, but it was not his uncle. Zuko told him so.

"Oh, sorry," Aang deflated, shoulders sagging, "Well, it's nice to meet you!" The monk bowed, clapping his hands together run front of him as he lowered his head.

"Likewise, young monk," the old man returned the sentiment, "I am Headmaster Saladin of Red Fountain School For Heros. These two pupils are Prince Skye and Brandon. Welcome."

"Well, we know that," Aang said, scratching his scalp, "They're pretty good fighters- Sokka would be jealous, huh Zuko?" Zuko roles his eyes, and he absentmindedly pulled his black hair down in his face, carefully over his scar.

"Uh, sure," Zuko replied.

"May I inquire as to who you are?" Headmaster Saladin asked. It took a minute for the question to process before Aang suddenly bowed once more, Zuko following suit.

"I'm Aang!" he said, "and this is my friend, Prince Zuko!" At the mention of the title, the old man hummed, stroking his beard slowly.

"A Prince, huh?" he said, "You know, at our school we have royalty from all over the world come to attend, to learn to be a true hero."

"That's great and all, but we aren't here to learn how to become true heroes," Zuko spat at him, "and _Avatar_ Aang, my title isn't 'prince'. Please remember that next time you introduce me." Aang blew a raspberry, rolling his eyes. Zuko looked smug at the note of interest at Aang's own title, etched onto the old man's face for a quick second.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, _Fire Lord_ Zuko," he joked, his lips pulling into that annoying crooked grin of his.

"Well," Headmaster Saladin cleared his throat, "Why don't we have you two settled in for now then? We can figure out your situation after the lunch break." Bowing politely, Zuko and Aang followed the students inside, Zuko lowering his head as passerby stared and pointed.

He wasn't going to like it here, that much he knew. But it was better than being out in the open- for now.


End file.
